Post Office Closures must stop

Over the last two years more than ten local Post Offices have closed. My team and I have been extensively involved in fighting these closures. Some of the hardest hit have been pensioners who relied on their local Post Office to get their pension. More than that, the weekly visit to the Post Office added to their quality of life. Despite massive public protest and petitions, the Post Office drove the closures through. Their argument was that shutting these local offices was vital if the main network was to survive.

Last week, news broke that the Government is now 'reviewing' the future of up to half of the 560 Main Crown Post Offices. People are rightly outraged. People feel let down and betrayed. On Friday and Saturday I stood outside the Main Post Office in Folkestone to gather signatures on my 'Don't Even Think About Closing Folkestone Post Office Petition'. The support was amazing. In a little over 2 hours 350 people expressed their support by signing the petition.

My view is that the Post Office has an agenda to sell off some of its prime sites as offices or inner city luxury housing. I can foresee a time when the Post Office will be just a counter in another retail store. I truly believe that local people do not want this. The Post Office is a public service as well as a business. It fulfils a vital role in our community. Instead of hacking back the network and shutting down Post Offices it should be building them up, modernising them and drawing in a new range of services.